Many fresh graduates are feeling the pain of unpaid internships and working for free just to get their foot in the door – to add to their CV so they can even be considered for an entry level role at some marketing firm.

And it hasn’t been an entirely different experience for Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, who recently made his film debut in the musical romantic comedy Begin Again alongside Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo. Levine has revealed that he worked for free in order to gain experience in the film industry.

“I did this movie for no money. I'm very lucky that I'm in that position,' Adam told USA Today in an article on Monday. “I want to have good experiences. I don't want to do a bunch of s*** that I hate. I want to treat [acting] completely differently because I have the very fortunate luxury of not having to think of this in terms of money,” he added.

Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo in 'Begin Again'

Begin Again sees Gretta (Knightley) and her long-time boyfriend Dave (Levine) as college sweethearts and songwriting partners who leave for the Big Apple upon news of a record deal. You know the rest: trouble in paradise, Dave’s not very nice after all. She makes it big.

But despite sounding like the most clichéd, annoying premise of all time, the critics haven’t given it a slating. “Just when you are ready to completely write off "Begin Again," the music starts to play, the camera takes it all in and makes us a part of it, and the film's unpersuasive emotions don't seem to matter as much,” wrote Kenneth Turan of The Los Angeles Times.